I was no maniac, says Joost

2008-04-25 08:35

Annelene Moses, Philip de Bruin and Alet van Zyl

Johannesburg - Joost van der Westhuizen, 37, former Springbok and Blue Bulls rugby captain, had to cough up R15 000 on Thursday when police wanted to arrest him for alleged malicious damage to property.

This came after he apparently forced open a boom last week at Dainfern Estate and drove in through the Cedar-Road entrance.

He was apparently also aggressive towards two female security guards and gave them the finger.

Van der Westhuizen had wanted access to watch his four-year-old son Jordan's soccer practice at Highgate Pavilion on the estate.

He is a resident of Dainfern Valley.

A newsletter of Dainfern Estate which appeared on Wednesday said that he'd been refused access because he hadn't had any form of identification on him, not even a driver's licence.

Number plates claim rubbish

His vehicle also did not have permanent nor temporary number plates.

"After he was refused access, he got out of his car and forced open the boom. The internal mechanism was damaged and the repairs would cost about R15 000.

"The whole incident was recorded on closed circuit television cameras and a charge was laid with the police," according to the statement.

Van der Westhuizen, speaking via his lawyer Peet Viljoen of Pretoria, denied that he hadn't had identification with him.

"I did have my identity document with me, as well as my passport and my firearm licence. But the security guards refused to accept these. They insisted on a driver's licence."

He also denied allegations that he had been driving a vehicle without number plates as rubbish.

"It's a brand new car which doesn't have number plates yet. It still has a temporary, paper number plate which was stuck in my car's back window. None of the guards at the gate went to the trouble of checking my number plate. Their own video recording will prove it.

"I also did not break open the boom like a maniac. I simply got out, lifted the boom and drove through. I heard later that the mechanism had been damaged in the process. I immediately paid the R15 000 for it as evidence of my good faith."

Guards' attitude unreasonable, ridiculous

Van der Westhuizen added that when the guards refused to accept his identity, "I told them that my driver's licence was with Amor (his wife) who was already in the grounds. I offered that they drive with me to fetch it.

"But they still refused that I went in, and I warned them that I was going to open the boom myself because I thought that their attitude was unreasonable and ridiculous."

Dainfern's management said on Thursday night that it had instituted charges of malicious damage of property and trespassing against Van der Westhuizen and that he had asked for a meeting on Thursday morning.

They added that he had apologised and paid for the damage.

The next day security at Dainfern Estate proved that they hadn't let their guard down, in a manner of speaking, when boxer Corrie Sanders showed up without identification.

He'd been invited to take part in a golf day for charity but was stopped at the gate for not having any proof of identity.

After a heated encounter with a guard at the gate, Corrie phoned the golf day's organisers and told them he was going home. The organisers then convinced him to stay and "smuggled" him into the estate.

The estate's management got word of what had happened and the organisers insisted he apologise to the estate's "big bosses".

Corrie said he found it all "absolutely absurd and ridiculous" seeing as he'd been invited to do a good deed but was then treated like a criminal.

The estate manager Gerald Plots said they considered what had happened an internal matter that had been resolved.

- Beeld